1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, and more particularly to an image pickup apparatus configured to provide exposure control using a detection result of an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent digital cameras are mounted with the face recognition technology as part of the object recognition. This technology is effective to an automatic recognition of a main object in an image to be photographed, and proper photography of the main object. For example, when a human exists in an object field and turns his face on a camera, his face is recognized by the face recognition function and determined to be a main object. Accordingly, the camera provides such automatic focus, white balance, exposure controls that the recognized face can be properly photographed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. (“JP”) 2003-107555 proposes a digital camera configured to generate a photometric value used for the exposure control by weighing a photometric value of a face recognition part and a photometric value of the entire object field.
Once the main face is determined in the face recognition, JP 2003-107555 provides automatic exposure on the basis of the main face and may not provide exposure control pursuant to the photographer's intent when the main face is not located at the photometric center. For instance, some recent digital cameras have a photography mode (spotlight mode) used to properly photograph a spotlighted object. In the spotlight mode, the high brightness region in the object field is searched and its region is properly exposed. Hence, when the main face is automatically exposed in the spotlight mode and there is no main face in the high brightness region, the high brightness region is excessively bright and a face other than the recognized main face in the brightness region is not properly exposed.